The Third
by InuChanFan
Summary: Set after the end of S1E11, Elijah goes to reconcile with Hayley after they argue about choosing the dead over the living. Lemon included. Please read and relax.


**I actually wrote a story in 3 days while working! This never happens! Anyway, here is just a quick story about Elijah and Hayley set after the end of episode 1.11. Lemon included. As always, I do not own the characters. Please read and relax.**

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Elijah walks into his bedroom at the compound, hoping to be able to rest after the days many troubles. But he is not able to relax. He and Hayley had had an argument earlier, and they parted on bad terms.

As she walked with him down the street earlier that evening, Haley mentioned that she did not understand why he feels the need to uphold promises to someone who died several hundred years ago. Hayley stated that she would not choose the dead over the living. That if she felt something, she would act. That if she wanted something, she would take it. Elijah saw her words were testing him, pushing him for a response, but he did not rise to meet the challenge.

Elijah did not know if it was out of embarrassment or frustration, but Hayley began to walk away when it was clear he would not respond. He could not allow her to leave like that. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him. She stumbled and fell into him, regaining her balance so close to him that they were only inches apart. Then they moved closer, nearly kissing, but pulled away when they could feel each other's breaths on their lips. Elijah now feared he went too far, even though nothing really happened.

Agitated at the memory, the Original sits down on the edge of the bed and removes his shoes. Elijah then takes off his jacket and hangs in the bureau before falling into his bed. Always wearing a suit can be difficult, especially in a southern town like New Orleans. There is a cool fall breeze in the air, and Elijah finds it comforting against his skin. It is one of the only things giving him comfort right now with Hayley's words still ringing in his ears.

She is young, much younger than him. He took her words earlier as a youthful sentiment. Now he is not so sure. Regardless, Elijah realizes that her words should not have upset him so much that he would nearly break his promise to protect her without getting attached.

He considers if her thoughts earlier were really an expression something else. Frustration or fear perhaps. Her life has been tumultuous so far, and she has spent more time in danger recently than enjoying her youth. Elijah wonders if this has made it impossible for her to appreciate the present, always fearing what might be lurking around the next corner.

If this is true, all the stress will certainly be her undoing. She should rest, prepare for the coming months instead of always running around.

The more he thinks about their conversation earlier and Hayley's motives, the more Elijah regrets his decision to rile her up. Even though it was done inadvertently, he cannot help but feel shame. He's over 1,000 years old, and his grasp on his emotions should have been stronger. Elijah knows that he should apologize, and that he should apologize immediately.

Leaving his shoes and his jacket, he exits his room and walks the short distance down the hall towards her door. Were she any other girl, Elijah would have to look for her a bit harder. But at this time of night, her bedroom would be the best place to find her.

He reaches her bedroom door and enters without knocking. He considers announcing himself in some way once inside her threshold, but decides against it for fear that she might be disturbed by the noise. If she is asleep, he does not want to wake her.

Elijah finds Hayley in bed, staring up at the ceiling, eyes wide and searching. She is still, and she looks almost peaceful from a distance. But his supernatural sense of smell picks up something else in the air. Tears. And these tears are fresh.

Dreading instantly that he is the cause of her discomfort, Elijah decides to go to her. He walks silently to the side of her bed not thinking about how he will make amends, only knowing that this is what needs to be done.

The floor creaks as he approaches, making his presence known. Hayley sits up as soon she hears the noise and wipes the tears from her eyes. She does this to conceal her present demeanor and as a way to make it seem like she is fine, but Elijah sees it as confirmation that she is upset.

Elijah crosses the room and sits near her on the edge of her bed. He would not normally have been so informal with her, inviting himself in and sitting down on such a personal piece of furniture when he has not been welcomed, but being stiff and formal right now won't do anything other than make her feel worse. She needs to be comforted.

Both stare at each other, gaping and unsure of what to do or say next. Hayley breaks the silence first by asking, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to speak with you about earlier," he says before pausing to search for the right words. "I did not wish to leave you fearing I was angry with you after we parted...that way."

Hayley blushes at the mention of their argument and near kiss. His rejection is certainly one of the reasons she began crying, but her tears are more out of frustration than anything else.

In her short lifetime, Hayley has always lived by those words: If she wanted something, she would have taken it. It is one of the reasons she was able to be have such a strong sense of conviction as she spoke those words to Elijah in the Quarter earlier that evening. But things are so much more complicated now.

When she and Elijah were outside earlier, Hayley did not kiss him even though she wanted to. If this had happened to her a year ago, she would not have been able to hold back. Now she feels like a hypocrite. And when she combines that feeling with the distress of his silent rejection, she did not know what else to do other than cry.

"This isn't because of you," she says gesturing ambiguously towards her face.

"Then might I ask what has caused you to be so...dismayed?"

"Hormones," she shrugs. It's a lie, and Elijah is not fooled.

"I find it difficult to believe that you are capable of being so calm in the face of so many difficult situations only for you to succumb to hormones now."

Hayley looks at him defiantly, partially testing him again, partially warning him to leave it alone. If he is able to decrypt her expression, Hayley cannot tell. Instead of moving on to another subject, he decides to continue with his thought process.

"About earlier," he begins.

But Hayley cannot stand to hear it. She stops him almost immediately and says, "Can we just forget about it? I was stupid and impulsive, ok? It won't happen again." Her eyes shift nervously around the room as she speaks, settling finally in her lap. There is a small silence before Elijah continues.

"No, I need to explain." She looks up to him once more, holding his gaze as he speaks. "I made a promise to protect you, and that has not changed. I am a man of my word. You can always trust that. When I first offered you my protection, it was both from physical danger as well as emotional danger. And it still is. What happened earlier was...uncalled for. I am sorry if my actions have upset you. I would like to make amends."

"Elijah, what happened between us isn't something that either one of us is just going to be able to forget."

"Yes, I know that. But I think we can still move forward with our relationship as it was originally defined."

"So how do you suggest we do that?"

"We start over, simple as that. As allies I think we can continue to find goals that would be mutually beneficial."

"Allies? Would we still be friends?" she asks.

"By all means. We just need to be more cognizant of our boundaries"

"I would like that." She smiles at him. The moment passes, and Hayley tries her best to stifle a yawn. Elijah checks the clock on the wall; it is nearly 11 pm. It is late. He has apologized like he wanted, and now it is time to go. Hayley should be resting.

Elijah turns like he is about to leave, but she grabs his hand and asks him to stay. Hayley moves over slightly, creating just enough space for him to sit next to her in the bed. She scoots down further under the sheets and he sits on top of them, too chivalrous to really get into the bed with her. They sit together for a while, the vampire and the werewolf, finally resting and enjoying each other's company.

"I've been wondering something," Hayley says as she is nearly asleep. "Why did you not kiss me earlier? You looked like you wanted to…" Being drowsy is making her brave.

Elijah stiffens, unprepared for such a sudden and direct question. "I did want to," he whispers. "But I could not."

Hayley is once again completely awake. He wanted her. So why did he push her away?

Sitting up in the bed once more, she asks, "Why not?" She stares at him intently, waiting for his answer more nervously than she waited for someone to rescue her from the witches when she first arrived in New Orleans.

Elijah fumbles for words. Though his political negotiation skills are unparalleled, Hayley finds his romantic skills rather lacking. Perhaps he is out of practice. Or perhaps he just isn't able to come up with a good reason. Either way, Hayley can't stand the silence between them any longer.

Hayley throws the bedding off her legs, revealing her pajamas, and pounces at the vampire. Had he been a mortal, the force would have knocked him over. Instead he catches her and counters with his own supernatural force.

They fall sideways onto the mattress, their heads falling near the footboard. Merging together, they collide at every point that craves contact. Lips. Chest. Hips. Heat builds between them, something Elijah did not remember was possible given his abnormally cold body temperature.

Hayley's stomach has grown, and he can feel it against his torso as he kisses her. In one of Elijah's earliest struggles with his feelings for Hayley, he considered how much her one night stand with Klaus would turn him off. But here and now, Elijah could not care less. Her past does not matter. It is her present and her future that he cares for.

She tugs at his shirt, which he removes in a matter of nanoseconds. Her night shirt comes off next, revealing the skin he has craved for weeks now. He pulls back slightly to look at her. Elijah finds her more beautiful and radiant than he anticipated.

There is something enticing about her body that he had not anticipated. Pregnancy has filled her out. She is no longer the emaciated omega she had been when they first met. She is a woman, like the ones he used to know many decades ago. She is strong, supple and sensual. And he loves her for it.

His mouth moves to her breast, and she jerks back almost violently. "Sensitive," she whispers. Elijah smiles, relieved that he did not do anything seriously wrong. He returns to her chest more delicately than before, and she settles beneath him. When she moves next, it is out of pleasure. Not surprise.

Hayley, never one to be docile for long, pushes against him, flipping them over so that she is on top. Her mouth attacks his neck as her hands move down to Elijah's zipper. She is much more forward than almost any other girl he has known, but he does not protest. As her hand moves around him, Elijah even begins to let go a little.

Wanting more, Hayley begins to tug Elijah's pants off. She turns momentarily to throw the fabric to the floor, and the vampire uses the opportunity to attack his werewolf partner. Elijah swoops his arm around her and tumbles on top of her. Hayley laughs lightly, and Elijah repays her smiles by repeating the same motion she just performed for him. Only this time, neither break eye contact to watch her shorts hit the floor.

This action causes the pair to suddenly change their pace. Realizing their nakedness and the seriousness of their current predicament, they slow down. The pair decides to test the waters once more, neither wanting to be the one to push their relationship into an irreparable state.

Elijah, still hovering slightly above the young wolf, leans forward so that they might kiss once more. Their contact begins slowly as they regain their confidence, but neither can contain themselves for long. They both want this too much to stop now.

Elijah sits up, pulling Hayley into his lap. She sinks down on to him without a moment's hesitation, and they are finally connected. Hayley gasps and Elijah groans, unable to keep their pleasure silent any longer. The sensations is more perfect, more relaxing, more healing, than either could have imagined.

Hayley moves gingerly at first, unsure about the position with her new body. But with Elijah supporting her where he can, she soon begins to move with ease.

They rise and fall in unison, going as fast or slow as necessary in order to get the feeling just right. Soon they rise more than they fall, building towards something, up until that moment where they completely fall apart. Then the pair collapses, falling onto their pillows.

The warmth from their afterglow lasts for a few minutes, but the cool fall breeze soon finds them. Elijah moves to pull the duvet up over their shoulders as Hayley rests where he left her. She smiles internally at the gesture. All she had to do was get him to sleep with her to actually get him to sleep with her. She found it funny how simple he can be sometimes.

The pair lie together, talking intermittently for nearly an hour until it is clearly time to go to sleep. As Hayley drifts off, Elijah considers his future with the young woman lying next to him. He decides that one day soon he will tell her how happy he is that she will be joining their family, even if it wasn't under ideal circumstances. He will tell her of his hopes and dreams, and how she now fills them all. He will tell her how she became the third person in his 1,000 years that he has ever truly loved.

But before all this can happen, Elijah knows the best place for him to start would be for him to head back to his quarters for the night. Leaving her like this is not something he particular wants, but their relationship merits discretion. Being found together would certainly cause a huge uproar with Klaus. And that is something he knows they would both like to avoid.

Hayley will undoubtedly be angry with him when she wakes up alone tomorrow morning. And they will most likely have another argument about how he has done something wrong. But at least this way they would both survive long enough to make it up to each other tomorrow night. And the night after that. And the night after that.

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**The End! I hope you liked it. Reviews are always appreciated.**


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